Ferrari Mailing List: Flood Cars

[Charles Perry (charles]

My Corvette survived a flood, but I wouldn't recommend flood cars. At
the time, the dealership did a beautiful job rescuing it since the
insurance payout wouldn't have covered as nice of a replacement.
However, about eight years later I started having serious electrical
problems with the car. 

As a result of the flood, most of the harness had been underwater. While
the harness and connectors all looked great when the rest of the car was
saved, over the years the water that had worked into the insulation
corroded cabling throughout the car. Everything works, but the
resistance of the wires has increased dramatically, so everything draws
more current than is normally necessary. This has caused repeated
alternator failures, battery issues, motor burnouts and other problems.
I can barely drive the car with the AC on because the compressor/fan
draw will pull the system from a healthy 13.8 volts down to about 11
volts - all a result of the wiring.

My Corvette is an 85, which is too old to get a replacement GM factory
wiring harness, and too new for any of the resto houses to manufacture
such a thing. I drive it a fair amount around town but don't trust it
for long trips. It has sentimental value, so I'll hold it until someone
comes out with a replacement harness, but just as an FYI, flood issues
can surface a LONG way down the road...

-- charles

-----Original Message-----
From: David Thursby [mailto:david [at] thethursbys.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 12:43 AM
To: Charles Perry
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] 355 Advice

I think it's a flood title, not a salvage. To him it doesn't matter. He
got the car he wants in the condition he wants.